Now this is an interesting subject.
When at Uni, I had to fill out my academic quota [ For a Degree in Fine Art] with extra subjects, to make up a points quota. I have a Christian Background, but I like to learn, so I chose Chinese Religion and Buddhism.
In the West, we see Haiku as poetry, but aswe often do with the oriental cultures, we miss the point.
Haiku in Japanese Buddhism have a Spiritual purpose. The aim of all Buddhist practitioners is to obtain a Spiritual awakening, an understanding of reality outside the normal paramaters of Reality. Nivana is only one name for this state. A Haiku is meant to be like an Intellectual/Spiritual electric shock. Being able to understand/comprehend/ become aware of the meaning of a Haiku is intended to one way to snap you into that other understanding. Like a lightbulb exploding in your head.
My English is inadequate to explain it, but I hope you get the idea.
A haiku can be described as a moment of enlightenment during which we enter and share the life of even the smallest things around us.
